Chapter 15: A Growing Civilization (3)
After a sumptuous dinner, most of the Lizardmen went to sleep in their corners. Michael did the same, as he still had the mindset of a human, and saw night as the time to rest. Morning came swiftly and a beam of light that peaked between rocks woke Michael up from his slumber.
"Oh, that was so delicious!" Michael exclaimed as he stretched, his mind still lingering on the meal that was shared between the tribe the night before. Michael's guards, Aiden, Ru, Ryncol, Reinhard, and Ryan, were bundled up in a corner. The young Lizardmen laid together, their tails curled up around each other. It seemed that even after their evolution, they still retained their bonds with each other.
Michael's mind was submerged in thought as he watched them. Thoughts of a time before now, thoughts of when he was still a human...
[Don't get lost in the past, Michael. We are here now, and there's nothing we can do about it. We can only look to the future.] Mee's voice echoed through Michael's mental space.
"I know... It's just that I still miss home, you know. Now look where we are. Any wrong move and we could all die." His eyes remained on the Lizardmen in the corner. "It was all a game before, now it's real. It still scares me sometimes..."
Mee didn't reply this time, choosing to keep silent. Because he was a part of Michael's consciousness, he shared Michael's memories and was able to understand his feelings.
"Time to wake up, boys! We have work to do!" Michael raised his voice this time. The cold reptilian eyes of the five Lizardmen flicked open. The daze that usually lingered when one woke up from sleep was absent from their gazes.
"Leader." They spoke as one. They got up from their lying positions and bowed their heads. Michael nodded his head as he saw this. The five still hadn't lost their stiffness.
"We have more work to do today. I explained it to Milizaus last night. Follow me." Michael got up from his perch and led them outside. Milizaus could be seen instructing the Lizardmen around. Large, lumbering Lizardmen carried stacks of twigs and branches around while the smaller females and children handled the fruits. There was no leftover meat from the last night. It seemed the Lizardmen enjoyed it much better than fruits.
"Leader." Milizaus walked up to Michael and bowed from his waist. His attitude and stance towards Michael had done a complete 360 degrees ever since his evolution "We are ready to gather more fruits and wood. The hunting team has already assembled by the cavern entrance. They were quite eager to go out again... If I may ask, leader, may I follow your group this time?" The older Lizardman didn't meet Michael's gaze.
"Hmm..." Michael thought about the pros and cons to letting Milizaus come along. Milizaus was the head overseer of the activities that were carried out in the cavern. Perhaps when their blooming civilization was more advanced, he would appoint more people to serve under the old Lizardman.
"Fine, I'll allow it. But we must be quick. There will be no one to supervise the tribe's affairs while you are away."
"Um, about that, leader. There is someone who I must introduce you to." Milizaus turned back. A slim female Lizardman was standing behind him. Her scales were a pale yellow and her eyes shone green like fresh leaves.
"Leader." She bowed, her voice flowing through Michael's ears smoothly. Michael's eyes widened as they trailed her slim form.
"Oh? Who might this be?" Although he was once a human, he was now a Lizardman, he still knew beauty when he saw it. The female Lizardman stood a few meters away from him. She stood perfectly straight, with firm eyes that showed that she wasn't a pushover.
"This is my daughter, Leader..." Milizaus lowered his gaze slightly as he spoke. A frown formed on Michael's face as he processed the words.
"Didn't the former leader separate children from their parents before they hatched? How do you know she is your daughter?" Michael asked.
"Yes, he did. But I never let him know I had a child. I hid her away when her mother laid her, and raised her away from the tribe. It wasn't until you took over that I retrieved her." The old Lizardman placed a palm on the female's back. "Her name is Ramita."
The female, Rameta finally connected her gaze with Michael's. Although it might be seen as being disrespectful, and mostly frowned upon by other Lizardmen, Michael had no problems with it. To him, it showed that she truly had a backbone.
"My daughter here has been trained since her childhood to take over as the Advisor of the Leader since she was a child. I believe she can fill in my position while I'm away, or possibly even when I relinquish my position. Perhaps it is time to put her to the test." Milizaus' eyes blinked slowly as he spoke.
Michael listened, carefully weighing the pros and cons.
"Hmm, I'll allow it, but only as a test. I expect you to reclaim the position the moment we return." He finally agreed. Both Milizaus and Ramita bowed from the waist.
"We are deeply grateful, Leader." They spoke with one voice.
"Very well, then. We have wasted to much time. Let's get going."
Michael led the hunting group, with the addition of Milizaus out of the cavern, only to run into another obstacle at the exit of the cave.
"Eudora, Brutus. I see you have returned well." Michael spoke politely when he saw them. The Dark Elf and human were still the same as before. Eudora wore a dark blue tunic that hugged her sides in a seductive manner, while Brutus maintained his stony expression. His dual hammers were switched with axes this time though.
"Lizardman." Brutus spoke coldly. "You tricked us."
"Tricked you? What are you talking about?" Michael was a bit confused.
"Firstly, there was no death curse! It was all a ploy to scare us, right?" Eudora spoke this time, not trusting her companion to remain civil with the Lizardmen.
"Ah, that!" Michael waved his hand dismissively. "I just wanted to scare you a bit. I guess I did well." Michael wasn't worried at all. Although there was a possibility that the duo brought along a few other people to attack them, he wasn't worried, as he had already performed some advanced preparations to make sure the tribe wasn't ambushed by humans.
"And, you said 'firstly'? What was the other issue?" Michael's scaled face twisted in a questioning manner.
"You sent Lizardmen after us that day! Brutus almost lost his arm!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Nilo_A
Nilo_A Hey everyone. Sorry for the lack of updates... again. I was a bit occupied with my WSA entries. I hope you have it somewhere in your hearts to forgive my lazy ass.
I promise to return to the usual updates by next week.
Join my discord server for updates and news: https://discord.gg/Q2svN2a6GR
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone